Two Worlds, One Family?
by Melodylink
Summary: Shippo has waited long enough to find a family. Now he's going to take matters into his own hands, even if it means he has to learn to share ... InuKag, MiroSan
1. before the fall of Rome

****

Two worlds, One family?

I met you before the fall of Rome  
and I begged you to let me take you home…

Some things are spontaneous.

Inuyasha stood in front of the path that led to the Bone Eaters Well, his arms folded and his expression fierce. 

"I said no!" he spat at Kagome, who stood in front of him, her gigantic yellow backpack by her side. She had been trying to reach the Well, and Inuyasha was blocking the path. 

She glared at him, annoyance practically radiating off her. "I heard you the first time."

Inuyasha frowned. "Then why are you still standing here?"

Kagome laughed. "You didn't actually think I'd listen to you, did you?"

Inuyasha sputtered for a moment. Kagome ignored him, trying to gauge the distance between the Bone-Eaters Well and Inuyasha. He had taken a few steps away from the direct pathway in order to confront her, and for a few moments she had a clear run. But would she make it before he caught her? 

Inuyasha's quick eyes caught her glance, and he moved to the side, cutting off any chance of dodging past him. Kagome expelled her breath, frustrated. 

That was a no, then.

Inuyasha smirked. As always, Kagome wore her thoughts on the outside of her skin. By now he could read her body language like a book, and there was no way she was going to leave him- leave _them_ today. For once, he was going to win this stupid argument about going home. His lips curled in a rare smile. He had a plan.

Kagome tensed as she watched Inuyasha smirk at her, obviously believing he had won some sort of battle. There was nothing else to do. She would have to use the 's' word. It was her only chance now – Inuyasha had made it clear in the hour long argument they had had coming back to the village from their latest shard hunt that he would not let her go home today, despite the fact that she had already spent a week in Sengoku Jidai with him, and had finals to do back at school. She would just have to say it and run before he could recover enough to catch her. It was an old trick, but it worked.

Inuyasha saw her body go taut, and knew what was coming. He reached up to touch his ears, making sure that his plan was still in place. Kagome watched him warily, then suddenly shouted "Sit!"

She took off for the Well as fast as she could go without looking back at him. As her feet pounded the ground, her mind registered something was wrong but she kept going anyway. The subduing spell on the rosary meant that Inuyasha would be down for at least a minute more. She was almost there.

Kagome grinned as she ran. Good old rosary. Works every time. She was mere feet away from the well now. Just a few seconds more-

Abruptly Kagome was knocked over as something red and silver crash-tackled her from behind, sending them both to the ground. Kagome gasped as the breath was knocked out of her by her sudden fall. She hit the ground hard, with a heavy weight on top of her, less than a foot from the Well. Dimly, Kagome recognised Inuyasha as the one who had tackled her (who else would?). One long strong arm pinned her arms to the ground with her face in the wet grass. He lay on top of her, his weight making it impossible for her to get up. Characteristically however, his other arm was curled around in front of her to break her fall and prevent her from hitting the ground with full force. Kagome struggled underneath him. 

"Get off me, you jerk!" she yelled. 

Inuyasha grinned and held on, his superior strength easily holding her in place. Kagome kept struggling, her mind reeling. What had happened here? How could he have possibly reached her in time? The subduing spell should have given her a good few minutes more.

Suddenly Kagome went cold. What if he had somehow found a way to take off the rosary? Did he have it on before? She couldn't't remember. 

Twisting now, she tried to turn underneath Inuyasha to check if the rosary was still in place. If the hanyou had been able to take it off then she had nothing to use to control him. However, Inuyasha wasn't about to let her move now that he had her pinned. 

Thinking rapidly, she suddenly went still. Inuyasha remained still above her, wary of any tricks she might try. Taking a deep breath, Kagome let out a shuddering sigh, and let her shoulders shake as if she was crying. Screwing up her eyes, she forced a few tears out to run down her cheek.

Inuyasha froze. Kagome had stopped moving, and was making unsettling noises. Her face was buried in the grass, but now he could smell the unmistakable salt of her tears. He felt a small flicker of panic pass through his stomach. Had he hurt her? Why was she crying? He had made sure when he tackled her that she wouldn't't get hurt, even keeping his arms braced in front of her so she wouldn't't fall wrong. But she was crying! Could he have made a mistake? Was she hurt? Inhaling, Inuyasha could smell her tears and the scent was driving him crazy. 

Panicked, he lost his sense of being pleased with himself for tricking Kagome. Lifting himself slightly, he tugged on Kagome's arm, jerking her around beneath him so they were face to face. 

Her face was red with tear streaks down her cheeks. Inuyasha's blood ran cold, his fears confirmed. He had hurt her! Urgently he ran his hand over her arms, trying to find where she was injured.

Kagome lay still underneath him, forcing the smile off her face. It had worked! She was certain that if Inuyasha believed that she was hurt he would forget that he was meant to be holding her down. Of course, when he realised she was fine, his bad temper would be back with a vengeance. But meanwhile, Kagome took the opportunity to confirm her suspicions. Her eyes went immediately to his neck, but to her surprise (and relief) the rosary was hanging there as usual. 

Kagome frowned. So how had he managed to catch her then? 

Inuyasha meanwhile roughly checked her body for an injury of some kind. Kagome blushed slightly as he ran his hands deftly over her body, but the shivery feeling was abruptly destroyed when he stopped, jerking her face up to meet his. Kagome's eyes were forced up to meet his own, and she quailed. Yellow eyes glared at her from a distance of a few inches. 

"You're not hurt." It wasn't a question. Kagome flushed, realising the game was up. Inuyasha's yellow eyes continued to stare at her accusingly. Kagome felt a bit ashamed for tricking him, and hurriedly summoned up anger to swallow her guilt. 

"Sit!" she yelled.

Nothing happened save that Inuyasha's frown turned back into a triumphant smile. Kagome felt a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. The subduing spell wasn't working. 

"What did you do," she snapped at him, hiding the fear that coiled in her guts in convenient anger. "Why isn't the rosary working? Did you break it?"

"No," said Inuyasha smugly. "Your brother showed me how to fix it." 

"My brother did what!"

Inuyasha didn't answer her, just kept on smiling with that infuriating triumphant expression on his face. Kagome lay still, her mind racing. She glanced up at his ears and frowned. 

Suddenly it occurred to her that with all the yelling she had been doing lately Inuyasha should have complained about the noise level at least once. She had been screaming into his ear at one point after all. Experimentally, she took a deep breath and screamed.

It was a long, shrill scream, though somewhat hampered by the weight of Inuyasha lying on her stomach. However, Inuyasha didn't say a word. His ears didn't even twitch. It was as if he couldn't hear her. 

Couldn't hear her...

Kagome caught sight of a flash of white up near his ears that didn't quite match. It was the dull white of synthetic material, and it stood out from the living colour of his hair and ears. Pulling one arm free from Inuyasha, she darted up with her hand and grabbed the piece of material. It fell out of his ear with one tug, and she stared a it in her hand.

Earplugs.

A red haze started to build up behind her eyes. _I'm going to **kill**_ _Souta when I get home_, she promised herself. In the meantime she needed to wipe that smug look off Inuyasha's face. She took a deep breath ...

"Sit!"

... and too late realised her mistake. 

The magic in the rosary ensured Inuyasha came crashing to the ground as always, but this time, Kagome was between the ground and him. Thus, Inuyasha's face slammed painfully into the crook of her neck, his legs going limp on top of her. Kagome gasped as the breath was knocked out of her for the second time in as many minutes. Even more annoying, she could feel Inuyasha laughing into her shoulder. 

"Stupid bitch," he said, his voice muffled by her shirt. 

Kagome decided to let that one go. After all, it had been a pretty dumb thing to do. They lay in silence for a few seconds while they waited for the spell to wear off. 

Kagome shivered suddenly as she felt Inuyasha's breath against the skin of her neck. A blush spread over her cheeks as she realised for the first time what a compromising position the two of them were in, especially now that she had sat Inuyasha. Kagome lay on her back with one knee drawn up. Inuyasha's legs straddled her knee, one long arm keeping her hands still pinned above her head while the other hand rested on her waist. Suddenly Kagome was unexpectedly conscious of the feeling of his long warm body pressed firmly against her own. It didn't't help that he continued to breathe quite heavily onto her neck, sending little shivers up and down her spine each time he did. She was uncomfortably aware that his mouth must be inches away from her skin. She flushed, feeling her heart rate increase. Was uncomfortable really the word? 

Inuyasha was beginning to feel a little strange too. Kagome's scent had changed so abruptly in the last few minutes that it was hard to tell what exactly she was feeling. First she had been angry, then crying, then angry again, and now she was…excited? He wished he could move and see her face, but the subduing spell kept him firmly buried in the crook of Kagome's neck. Still from here he could hear her heart racing, and she was almost quivering. What the hell was going on?

His body tingled, and he could feel that the spell was starting to wear off. Propping his head up, he stared into Kagome's face, trying to fathom the strange change in scent. Kagome blushed again to find him so close to her face and nervously licked her tongue over suddenly dry lips. Inuyasha's eyes were drawn to the movement, his own heartbeat beginning to increase. Without knowing why, he leant forward-

"Well, doesn't this look cosy," came a voice from behind them both. 

Startled, Inuyasha jerked himself off Kagome and darted a few feet away, flushing slightly as he stared at the ground. 

Miroku was standing at the edge of the path that led from the Well to the village, one hand on his hip staring at them both with an amused expression on his face. Kagome sat up, her face red with embarrassment. 

"Kagome, I thought you were going _home_ to sleep," he continued, grinning. "If you wanted to sleep like that in this time, you didn't have to come all the way out here. I, for one, would have been happy to oblige you-"

Miroku was cut off abruptly by Inuyasha, who promptly hit him over the head. Miroku tumbled to the grass inelegantly. Kagome scrambled to her feet, her face blazing and wishing the ground would swallow her up. From the look on Inuyasha's face, he was thinking something along the same lines. 

Glaring at the monk, Inuyasha bent his knees and jumped high into the trees above. What the hell had happened back there? he wondered desperately. Whatever it was, Kagome had effectively won the argument this time. He didnt dare go back and face her now. His face was still red. Gathering himself together, he turned away, and began to make his way deeper into the forest. 

With Inuyasha's abrupt exit, Kagome gratefully seized the opportunity for an exit to the embarrassing situation. Before Miroku could rouse, she hastily grabbed her backpack and dove into the Well.

Miroku propped himself up far enough off the ground to wave goodbye to the blue light deep in the Well that signified Kagome's departure form this time, still grinning despite the lump on his forehead which was already starting to protrude. 

"It's started," he said to nobody in particular. "And they don't even realise it yet."

He rolled over onto his back, tucking his hands behind his head and smiling at the blue sky above. 

"This is going to be fun to watch."

* * *

ps: I do not own Inuyasha 


	2. home, love, family

****

Two worlds, one family?

__

"Home, love, family,

There was once a time I must have had them too. 

Home, love, family,

I will never be complete until I find you…"

Some things are planned to happen. 

The littlest one crept away from the others and sat up on unsteady legs, lifting his nose to scent the air. Behind him, his brothers and sisters gamboled around on the short grass in front of the den, playing mock battles under the watchful eye of their mother. She lay a short distance away, her ears pricked for the sound of danger, but her body relaxed. The air was still and clear, dawn creeping lazily over the horizon. The mother fox curled her tail around her and waited patiently. The littlest one looked over at her, and their eyes met for a moment. Understanding and recognition passed wordless between them. Then they both looked away, as a familiar scent drifted into the clearing. 

The littlest kit's ears twitched in excitement, and his tiny stub of a tail flickered with recognition. Moments later, a mature fox trotted out of the bushes on the edge of the tiny clearing. He carried a small body in his teeth, his rusty head bowed slightly with the unaccustomed weight. 

With great care, the male trotted over and deposited his offering in front of the female. The mother looked up at him affectionately, giving approval for his gesture, then bent her head and started on her meal. The male relaxed, looking around contentedly at the kits who rolled around the tiny space in front of their den that served as a playing ground. 

Soon enough, the meal was finished, and the mother fox rose wearily to her feet to stumble a few steps away to the mouth of the den. The kits converged on her, recognizing the signal for their own feed time. The littlest kit hung back for a moment, looking as if he wanted to stay with his sire. However, the male knew the routine as well as his children, and would not let the kit stay outside the den with dawn so close. Unknown to them both, eyes from above watched their every move. 

Shippo sat motionless in the branches of the tree above the tiny family. A peculiar ache was in his heart as he watched the father usher the kit back into the hole as dawn stained the sky behind them. The kit nuzzled his mother affectionately before scampering into the warm darkness of their den. Shippo turned his attention to the father, who had returned to stand protectively at the edge of the clearing, his nose delicately scenting the air for danger. Shippo, hidden up the tree as he was, had been careful to put his scent downwind of the protective male. Scenting nothing untoward, he turned back to his mate. She waited at the mouth of the den for him. The wrench in Shippo's stomach twisted tighter as he watched the tiny family curl up together, warm furry bodies piled on each other haphazardly. There was an unmistakable aura of love in the atmosphere around them, a feeling of warmth and togetherness that denied the cold December air. 

Shippo shivered involuntarily himself as he saw the male take up a guard across the mouth of the den, occasionally flicking his tail back to rest gently it over the mother, as if to reassure himself of her presence. The littlest kit snuggled the closest to the mother, twitching an ear in response to his sires movements. 

It was a moment frozen in time for Shippo – the tiny family that tugged painfully at his little heart. And Shippo, as always, on the outside looking in. 

The spell was broken by a sudden noise close by. The male fox started up, fear in his eyes as the unmistakable sounds of a human drew nearer. Shippo noticed, and with a sigh, abandoned his post above the tiny family, scampering through the trees towards the ear-crashing sounds, trying to head them off before they could disturb the tiny fox family. 

Miroku almost dropped his staff as a furry bundle dropped abruptly from the trees to land neatly on his shoulder, making him stagger slightly at the unexpected weight. 

"Shippo-chan," he exclaimed, recovering his usual poise. "I was just looking for you."

"I know," said Shippo. "You're very noisy. Is it lunchtime yet?"

"Almost," said the priest tolerantly. "But that's not what I was looking to tell you."

Shippo squirmed impatiently. "Then what?" he asked. "Are you sure it isn't about lunch? I'm starving."

"Shippo-"

But Shippo was gone, racing ahead of Miroku back towards Kaede's hut. Miroku sighed. 

"I guess he'll find out soon enough anyway," he reflected to himself as he followed the kitsune.

When Miroku had trudged his way back to Kaede's hut, Shippo was indeed waiting for him. For the second time in ten minutes, Miroku staggered as the weight of Shippo at full speed crashed into his stomach. He regained his balance quickly as Shippo climbed up to his shoulder. 

"Kagome is gone already," he hissed into Miroku's ear. "You were supposed to tell me."

Miroku sighed. "I did try to tell you, Shippo. That's why I came out looking for you."

Shippo turned accusing eyes towards the houshi. "You did not! You didn't say anything about Kagome."

"That's because you took off so fast that I didn't have time to tell you, remember?"

Shippo wrinkled his nose. "Uh, I guess you're right." He looked eagerly at the monk. "Well, did he let her go?"

Miroku nodded, glad to abandon the argument. Shippo's eyes lit up. "I knew she'd win," he said, confident as ever in his heroine. 

"It shouldn't be long until Inuyasha attempts to follow her into the well," said Miroku.

Shippo nodded, a serious expression flitting over his face. "Good," he said. "Then we will see if your plan will work."

"Of course it will work," assured Miroku airily. "All my plans work."

Shippo still looked sceptical. "If it doesn't, you know what will happen," he warned. 

Miroku swallowed hastily, glancing over to where Sango stood by the pot in the middle of the clearing. "It will work, I promise," he said. 

"It better," said Shippo firmly. "Or else you're gonna pay for it."

A new voice cut in on their whispered conversation. "Lunch is ready, if the two of you can stop being so secretive for long enough to bother to eat it."

Miroku and Shippo looked guiltily at Sango, who was standing by a pot full of stew, glaring at them both. Miroku could see past the mock anger to the curiosity in her eyes. Sango looked like she was dying to know what the two boys were talking about, but she didn't say a word as Miroku gave her his most charming smile, lining up to take his portion of stew, just glared at him suspiciously. Shippo whispered into his ear as he went past. 

"Remember you cant tell anyone, okay? Not even Sango. That'll spoil it."

"I promise, Shippo-chan," hissed Miroku in reply.

Shippo glanced up into the sky, and then at the trees around them. No sign of Inuyasha yet. Everything was going according to plan. 

Just think, he told himself. Only a little bit longer now. Grabbing a generous portion of stew from Sango, he busied himself with the task of eating. 

It wouldn't be long now…

HR

Hey, so what dya guys think? I only realised after I wrote the summary that Shippo wasn't even in the first chapter, which is bad, cause the summary is all about him. *blush* So to make up for it, this is an entire, rather happening-less chapter full of our favourite kitsune and some miscellaneous foxes. For your erudition, the foxes featured in this story are the typical red foxes that live in most parts of North America. This breed is monogamous by preference, and the mating pair and kits stay together throughout the cold season, until the young are old enough to survive on their own. I'm not exactly sure how they happened to travel across the sea to end up in Feudal Japan, but it's a good thing for my story that they did, ne? ^_^ Maybe they clung to a piece of driftwood or something…

Please write and tell me if you think either Miroku or Shippo are even the slightest bit out of character; this is my first real try at them, so I am desperate for your feedback. Muchos gracias go to Angie, Sonic-Fan, The-Real-Rosie-Gamgee, Ken's Babe, LadyWyrsa, Crimson13 and lyerial for reviewing my first chapter. Love you all!

Oh, and any guesses on what Miroku has planned for Shippo? Or what Shippo is threatening to do if he doesn't come up with results? I love hearing from you guys, so please, by all means….review! 


	3. you said goodbye

****

Two worlds, one family?

"_You were wrong, I was right_

You said goodbye, I said goodnight…"

Kagome heaved her backpack up onto her bed, glad to put it down. It was much lighter now than it had been when she left, still, the weight was something she could do without. And she had gotten used to having Inuyasha carry it for her…

"Gaah!" she said out loud in frustration. Why did her thoughts always go back to Inuyasha? She had been away from him for barely an hour, and already she was wondering where he was, what he was doing, if he was still mad at her, even trying to calculate how soon he would come through the well to fetch her back. 

Honestly. It was as if she _wanted _him to come and fetch her back, which was patently ridiculous. She did _not_ want him to come and get her. She had just endured an incredibly embarrassing situation just to let him let her go. Red sprang into her cheeks as she remembered exactly what that situation was. 

No, going back was the last on her to do list. 

A treacherous voice in the back of her mind suggested that so maybe it wasn't _going_ back that she wanted, but _Inuyasha _coming to fetch her back. She squashed it ruthlessly. 

"I am not going back to the past with him," she said out loud, as if that would make it more plausible in her own ears. "I do _not_ want to go back to the past, whether Inuyasha is there or not. I want to stay here and study for my finals, so I can go to university and have a normal life – i.e. one that does not involve a lot of weird animals and people trying to kill me. Is that so much to ask?"

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness, you know, sis."

Kagome swung around to see a grinning Souta leaning against the doorframe to her room. He raised an eyebrow at her. 

"Trying to convince yourself of something?"

Kagome flushed. "I was…just practicing my lines," she said, unconvincingly. "For the new school play."

"Really?" he said, still grinning. "I didn't hear you were putting on a new play. What's it about?"

Kagome flailed. When had Souta gotten this smart? "Its about … um… this…" Inspiration flashed. "Tarzan. We're putting on Tarzan at school. I was practicing my lines." 

"Yeah right. And who are you playing?"

"Jane, as a matter of fact."

"Doesn't Jane fall in love with Tarzan?"

"So?"

"So I think its interesting that your first excuse involves you falling in love with an incredibly strong half-human protector of the weak. Sound familiar at all?"

Kagome glared at her brother, unable to think of a suitable comeback. Looking at him, suddenly she realised Souta had gotten tall without her noticing. He was now as tall as she was, despite the six years difference in their ages. It seemed like just the other day that he was a dirty faced nine year old, clamouring for attention and hero-worshipping Inuyasha-

Kagome broke off her train of thought in irritation. Why did _everything _lead her back to Inuyasha? 

"Because you're in love with him, stupid."

Kagome swung round to Souta again. "What?" she said blankly. "In love with who?"

Souta rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Like it's hard to tell what you are thinking about."

"What do you mean?" snapped Kagome, uncomfortably aware of the tell-tale blush on her cheeks. 

"Inuyasha. You were thinking about him."

The blush deepened "I was not," she said. Curiosity overrode her pride. "How do you think you can you tell, anyway?"

Souta shrugged. "Its easy. Your eyes go all soft and sappy, then you get annoyed for no reason. Everyone can tell now." He grinned. "Maybe you should just go out with him, then you could stop thinking about him all the time."

"I do _not_ think about him all the time."

"Really? How many times have you thought about him in the last hour?"

Kagome flushed and threw a pillow at him. "Just go _away_, little brat."

"See! Now you're even starting to sound like him." 

Kagome glared at her brother, suppressing the urge to strangle him. He grinned at her, knowing what she was thinking. 

"Look, in my opinion you should just go for it, sis," he said. "You spend all your time with him anyway. Might as well make it official."

"Its not like that," said Kagome, flushing slightly as she remembered their last encounter; his golden eyes staring into her own, his warm breath on her neck- "I'm…I'm just his shard detector." _Just his shard detector. Just someone to tolerate until he can gather up the shards and kill Naruku. Then he wont need me anymore…_

"You're doing it again."

"Hmm?" she said distractedly. "Doing what?"

"Thinking about him."

Kagome blushed again, for what was entirely too many times today. "You have no idea what you are talking about," she said, suddenly irritated. 

Souta sat down on the edge of her bed, his face serious for a change. "Look, Kagome. I don't know what is wrong with you, but Inuyasha is without doubt the coolest brother I could think of, and you know Mum loves his ears. Don't let him slip away just because you are too shy to make things happen."

"Its not like that," tried Kagome again, but even that sounded weak to her ears. In a much smaller voice, she said half to herself "Anyway, he's in love with someone else." Suddenly Kagome felt tired. "I'm just going to go to bed," she said to Souta. "Its been a rough couple of days." 

Souta nodded and turned to leave. At the door though he paused, looking back. "Ah, sis?"

"What?"

Souta's face twitched, as if he was trying to control a grin. "Ah, I was just wondering. I gave Inuyasha a present last time he was here. Do you know if he found it useful?"

Kagome sat up abruptly. "I cant believe I almost forgot," she said, the muscles under her eye twitching. "So it really was you who gave him the earplugs?"

"Souta grinned innocently. "Yeah, I thought with the way you are always yelling at him, he could use a break from the sound of your voice."

"Why you little- " Kagome grabbed her pillow and jumped off her bed. "I'm going to KILL you for that, you little brat!"

"So I take it he _did_ find them usefu- Hey!" Souta ducked as Kagome swung her pillow at him. Deciding caution was the better part of valour, he took his chance and ran down the hall. 

"Come BACK here!" yelled Kagome, giving chase. "SOUTA!"

~*~*~*~*~

Inuyasha sat up in his favourite tree and sulked. 

Once again, Kagome had been able to outmaneuver him and escape back to her time. Most of all though, he was frustrated with himself for getting so unbalanced by what had happened. Hell, Kagome had probably planned it - Souta's earplugs, the misplaced sit, Miroku's entrance -everything, just because she _knew_ that it would unnerve him. 

That it still unnerved him, more than he wanted to admit. He shifted uncomfortably in his perch in the God Tree. Just thinking of the incident brought vividly back the feel of her body underneath his, her warm, flowery scent mixed with a strange excitement that made his heart pound unreasonably, just by thinking of it…

Inuyasha shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the disturbing memory. Finally though, he had to face up to the truth. 

He liked her. Possibly it was because of her cheerfulness. Or the fact that she was the only person, apart from his brother, who didn't look slightly frightened when they talked to him. 

And that was because she didn't _know. _Not _really_ know exactly what he was capable of. Coming from another time, Kagome still didn't understand what it meant to be a youkai, even if it was only a half one like himself. She didn't understand how dangerous he was; didn't know of the terrible things he'd done. She had always treated him just like she treated everyone else, as if there was nothing more natural than for them to be friends. 

A selfish part of Inuyasha wanted to preserve her ignorance of his true nature as a small, precious thing in his life, but realistically he knew that one day it wouldn't be possible. One day, something would happen, and she'd realise the truth about him – that he was just a monster. 

And then she would look at him like everyone else did, her scent laced with the taste of fear. She wouldn't offer to share her food, or rush to help him when he stumbled, or look at him with that warm, bright smile in her eyes that for some queer reason made his heart skip. 

Not that he cared what she thought of him, he rationalized to himself. It was just that it would be much harder to search for the shards if she was afraid of him. She wouldn't want to ride on his back, her comforting, trusting warmth pressed against him. She wouldn't trust him to protect her in battle. She might even – Inuyasha felt a sudden stab of anger – she might even take the chance to run away with that baka Kouga. As if he could protect her like Inuyasha could. 

No, things would be much better if she just admitted that he was right, and stayed here with him where she belonged. 

Inuyasha caught himself on that train of thought, surprised at where it had taken him. He sniffed. Not that it wasn't true. She _should _stay here. She had a job to do, and it was irresponsible of her to run off and leave him to it. It was her damn fault the thing was broken anyway. 

And she needed to be with him because she was weak as piss and slow as hell, even though she'd never admit it. The various youkai around here would have eaten her long ago if they didn't know that the Great Inuyasha was protecting her. 

In fact, she owed him for the number of times he had saved her life. How dare she just run off after he had risked everything to protect her. Kagome owed it to him to spend more time with him – with them searching for the shards. It was only fair. And she was the one always going on about fairness. Feh. It was typical of the girl not to take her own advice. It wasn't fair. He should go and explain it to her, and then she'd realise how unfair she was being by leaving him all alone. 

Yes.

In fact, he should go and get her right now, and then they could spend the night here and make a start early in the morning. He _should_ do that. It was only fair. He should. 

He would.

Relieved that his mind was finally made up, Inuyasha dropped out of the tree, landing softly on all fours on the ground below. The Well was a few jumps away. He cleared it in no time, looking around at the forest that had been named after him, before taking one last smooth jump into the darkness of the Well. The rosary around his neck glowed pink for a moment, tugging him towards the future.

Towards Kagome.

~*~*~*~*~

Miroku watched him leave from the shadows of the trees. The blue light flared, signalling Inuyasha's transportation to the future. Once it faded, he beckoned to the small wriggling bundle that hid beneath a bush several metres away. 

"That's it, he's gone," he said. 

Shippo bounded up to the side of the dry well, peering over the edge. Miroku strode over to stand beside him. 

"We should get ready for the Plan before they come back," he said.

Shippo turned a worried face to the young monk. "But what if he brings her back straight away?" he asked. 

"He wont," said Miroku confidently. "Kagome has been home for little more than a day, and I overheard her tell Sango that she has important tests to take over the next few days. You know how stubborn she can be. Inuyasha will not be able to take her back before she does them."

"So what if he comes back on his own to wait for her?"

Miroku looked amusedly down at Shippo. "And leave her side when he has the excuse of needing to take her back to stay with her? Not likely." He smiled down at the kitsune. "Trust me, we have until sunset tomorrow to put our Plan in action." 

"If you say so," said Shippo. "You know what I'll do if you are wrong," he added, his small face threatening. Miroku swallowed nervously and nodded, a light flush on his cheeks. 

"Trust me."

Shippo suddenly perked his nose up into the air, sniffing. "If Kagome and Inuyasha aren't going to be back til tomorrow, that means we have time to eat right?"

Miroku smiled at the young kitsune's attention span. "Yes, I hope so."

"Race you back to Kaede's then!" shouted Shippo. Blue foxfire swirled around him, and he was gone, faster than Miroku could blink. Knowing he had lost even before he began, Miroku sighed and started to walk back to the village. 

__

This better work, he prayed silently to himself. Not that his brilliant plans ever failed, but the consequences for this one were more dire than most. He only had to hope that Shippo would keep his end of the bargain. Otherwise, he was in big trouble.

Thanks to: The-Real-Rosie-Gamgee, me!, Sour Schuyler, Cutie Blossom, Clever-Chan, LadyWyrsa, red-kitsune, Sonic-Fan, Lady Hiko, miraia, lindy*girl and ME for reviewing ^_^ Love you guys!


	4. by myself

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Inuyasha except for about seven DVDs and the original content of this story. Oh, and the Linkin Park song isn't mine either.

****

Two worlds, one family?

****

"BECAUSE I CAN'T HOLD ON WHEN I'M STRETCHED SO THIN   
**I MAKE THE RIGHT MOVES BUT I'M LOST WITHIN**   
**I PUT ON MY DAILY FACADE BUT THEN**   
**I JUST END UP GETTING HURT AGAIN**   
**BY MYSELF …"**  


__

A splash of red in a world of grey.

Kagome stood on a battlefield, staring around at the carnage that littered the ground. Everything was in shades of grey, and she could feel the heaviness of death press against her soul like a suffocating blanket. All around her were people fallen in battle, their eyes sightless and their bodies mangled. Curiously enough though, Kagome did not feel sick at the sight. She was vaguely aware of the strangeness of this with one part of her mind, but the rest of her was focussed on the one splash of colour among the grey. 

Someone was moving towards her, someone dressed in a red that was achingly familiar to her. But the body was much to small for it to be who she thought it was. Knowing somehow that whoever it was must not catch sight of her, Kagome crouched down slowly behind a grey bush, ignoring the severed arm that rested beside her. Her eyes were trained on the solitary figure. Slowly it drew closer, and Kagome whistled softly with amazement.

It was Inuyasha indeed, but a much smaller version than the one she fought with daily. An Inuyasha of about nine or ten, she guessed, though with youkai it was hard to tell. She crouched down further behind the bush and watched. 

The chibi Inuyasha wandered the battlefield, his silver hair shining curiously pristine among the grey of death that hung around him. He seemed lost, his tiny ears drooping and his golden eyes round with worry. He held something in his hands as he walked, something that glowed faintly. Kagome craned her neck to try and make out what it was, but he was holding it close, as if it was something precious to him, and she could not make it out.

Kagome became aware of a group of men and women standing close to her, muttering among themselves as they observed the battlefield. It seemed that chibi Inuyasha saw them too, for his ears perked up ever so slightly, and he started to pick his way through the carnage towards them. 

The muttering stopped when he drew near, and the villagers turned to regard the hanyou child that now stood before them. They drew back, away from him, forming a stern half-circle around him. Fear and disgust was etched on their faces. Chibi Inuyasha seemed to recognise their animosity for his ears drooped again, but he still held out what ever was in his hands towards them with a hopeful expression. It glowed brightly, warmly through his fingers and one of the women there took a step forward, attracted to the light. Chibi Inuyasha's face brightened and he offered the glowing thing to her eagerly. The muttering started up again among the men, and one ran forward and snatched the woman back into the group. The villages turned their backs on the chibi in a clear sign of rejection. 

Daunted by their hostility, the silver-haired boy shrank back, but recovered his courage and tried again, offering the bright thing in his hands with a hopeful, pleading expression. As if sensing his urgency, the glowing thing took its cue and shone almost blindingly. Kagome caught her breath looking at it. It was beautiful and she was sure the villagers could not refuse it now. But this time, they did not even look at it. Stones came flying out of nowhere, hitting chibi Inuyasha with such force that they left great red welts on his tiny body. 

Sadly, the light dimmed and chibi Inuyasha turned away. Kagome ran after him, her heart wrenching to see the pain in his eyes. She turned on the villagers, aghast that they could be so cruel to a mere child.

"What's wrong with you people?" she yelled angrily. "Why did you do that? Didn't you see he was trying to give you something?"

No reply. 

"Answer me!" She took on of the villagers by the arm and turned him around roughly. "Didn't you see how beautiful it was?"

The villager looked at her, and Kagome took a step back. He really hadn't seen it. The man was wearing a blindfold. She looked around at all the other villagers in puzzlement, and her eyes widened in surprise. They were all now wearing blindfolds as grey as themselves, though she could have sworn that they could see a moment ago. The man shook her hands off his arm, and turned away, following the rest of the villagers in the same eerie silence. Kagome stared after the villagers in shock, then ran to catch up with the chibi Inuyasha. 

Hours passed. Kagome trailed along behind the sliver haired boy as he offered his gift to countless people – some were whole groups, some were just couples or single travelers, but each time, the result was the same. The people would turn away from him, unable to see the beauty and brilliance of the glowing gift through their blindfolds. And each time Inuyasha was rejected, his ears drooped a little more, and the stones they threw cut a little deeper. Kagome's heart ached to see him, and she grew angry at the stupidity of the villagers in turning away something so precious, and hurting her beloved Inuyasha. 

Finally, the chibi Inuyasha had had enough. The final set of stones had knocked him to the ground, bleeding. When the villagers left, he did not get up, but instead lay there on the ground, cradling his glowing gift. Once again, Kagome strained to catch a glimpse of what he was holding, and she crept closer to him, trying to make it out. Inuyasha seemed to be coming to a decision. Suddenly sat up, so that Kagome was forced to flee behind a bush for fear he would catch sight of her. She peeked out form behind the grey foliage to see chibi Inuyasha wipe furtive tears from his face with his sleeve.

Taking hold of the glowing thing, he stared at it in anger before thrusting it deep into his clothes, hiding the light. His face settled into the defensive scowl she knew so well, and he stood trembling on legs still weak from the hurt he had received. But the look on his face shouted a determination louder than words.

"Fine," he shouted defiantly to the silent world. "If you don't want it, that's fine. I can take care of it myself! Do you hear me? All by myself!" He turned away angrily, and started striding off, his small form stiff with anger and resentment. To anyone watching, they might have supposed that he really didn't care about the rejection of the villagers. 

But Kagome had seen the tears in his eyes.

~*~*~*~*~

She opened her eyes slowly. Colours swam in front of her as she teetered on the edge between dreams and wakefulness. Kagome blinked sleepily and the colours swirled, finally focusing into two golden pools slit with black, inches from her face.

Eyes.

Kagome yelped and jerked up, cracking Inuyasha on the chin with her head. He sat back instantly, that wounded puppy look on his face, as if it was her fault that he got hurt. "Ai, what in the hell did you do that for, wench?" he grumbled.

Kagome took a deep breath, trying to quell her racing heart. Inuyasha sat back on his heels, scowling at her. Once she had breath enough to speak, she glared at him.

"What are you doing here, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha looked slightly nonplussed for a second before his emotional alert swung back to defensive. "What do you mean, what am I doing here?" he demanded. "I'm here to take you back of course."

Kagome squashed her tiny, traitorous thrill of pleasure at his words and glared at him. "I just got here!"

"So?"

"Inuyasha, I told you before, I have exams to do. If I don't do the exams then I will fail school. If I fail school I wont ever be able to get a proper job. If I don't even get a proper job I wont have enough money to buy the things need like food and a place to live. If I don't have a place to live-"

"You will have to come and stay with us forever," Inuyasha finished for her. "So you might as well just come with me now and then you wont have to go through all that other stuff, and you will be able to focus on more important things, like the shards." _Like me. _

Inuyasha flushed slightly at the stray thought that had crept into his mind. He shook his head, hoping Kagome hadn't noticed and tried to regain his train of thought. 

He began to say something, but stopped when he suddenly registered the warning signals coming off Kagome like steam. He paused, bewildered. What did he say? He had been here for five minutes already, and she was pissed off at him. 

~*~*~*~*~

He was right, Kagome was furious. 

__

That's it, she thought. How dare he just assume that her life outside of the Sengoku Jidai was unimportant, as if her whole world should revolve around him and him alone. She squashed the traitorous thought that pointed out that it very nearly did anyway. 

Inuyasha was still staring at her, awaiting a response of some sort, though Kagome had no idea what to say. 

Luckily the moment was broken by a particularly loud grumble from her stomach. Kagome flushed, and got up. In all the turmoil of the earplug fiasco at the Well and Souta's all too knowing questions she had slept right through tea. "Look, Inuyasha," she said firmly. "I'm going downstairs to get something to eat. When I come back I am going to sit down at that desk over there and study for my exams tomorrow, and you are going to go home. So if you have anything to say to me, please use this time to make it as concise as possible, because you shall have about thirty seconds before I sit you into oblivion. Understood?" Not waiting for his reply, Kagome strode out of the room, closing the door behind her. 

~*~*~*~*~

Kagome was marshalling her arguments against Inuyasha as she climbed the stairs again back to her room after tea. There was no way she was going to let him take her back again. She had only just got home and it was really important that she take the exams she had tomorrow. It just wasn't fair for him to expect her to drop everything and go running after him. She would just have to explain that to him, calmly and rationally

And if that didn't work, she would just have to sit him into next week.

"Right, Inuyasha-" she began as she opened the door again, then halted mid-sentence.

Curled up on the end of her bed was the hanyou, his arms tucked under his head and his eyes shut peacefully. 

He was asleep. 

The annoyed words she was about to say died on Kagome's lips. _Poor Inuyasha. He must be exhausted. _A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she watched him sleep. She couldn't help it. There was just something so adorable about him when he was asleep, when for a brief moment in time all his defenses were down. His face had lost that sharp, defensive edge that hovered around his eyes when he was awake, constantly on guard against the world. Now he looked younger, the tension on his face smoothed out. Kagome felt her heart melt. It wouldn't be right to turn him out tonight. Surely it would be okay just to let him sleep there. After all, if he was asleep he couldn't be dragging her back to the Sengoku Jidai, and that's what she wanted wasn't it? 

Kagome slipped into the chair at her desk and looked over at Inuyasha breathing softly on her bed. Even asleep his presence filled the room, like a warm brush against her senses. On the blackest of nights in a strange room, Kagome would have been able to wake up and point unerringly to the place where Inuyasha was, just by the feel of his presence against her newly-trained miko senses. She smiled softly at him, enjoying the feel of his aura filling her room and wrapping around her. Leaving her desk and moving over to sit beside him on the bed, her hand was halfway to his face before she realised what she was doing. She blushed, irritated with herself for becoming caught up with his presence again. Why couldn't she be this interested in Hojo? He was a nice boy. It would be much better if she could just transfer all the intimacy she felt for Inuyasha over to him. That way Inuyasha could have Kikyo, she could have Hojo, and everything would be fine.

Except that Kagome couldn't even imagine acting the same way towards Hojo as she did towards Inuyasha. 

What was it her grandfather had said, a few days ago? She had been arguing with him about the Sengoku Jidai, and he had glared at her, annoyed. _"Really, Kagome, sometimes you act like there is one rule for you when you are through the well, and another one for when you're here."_

Kagome sighed at the memory. It was true, in a strange sort of way. Leading the double life that she had for so long, had resulted in two very different attitudes. There really was one rule for her time, and a completely different one for her life with the Sengoku Jidai. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha curled up on the end of her bed and smiled. His ears twitched towards her, alert to her movement even though he was asleep. Kagome suppressed an urge to reach over and scratch his ears, and instead slipped off her dressing gown and crawled up onto the other end of her bed. 

Kagome tried to picture Hojo in Inuyasha's place, and wrinkled her nose, grinning to herself. It just didn't work the other way around. The thought of Hojo in her room just made her uncomfortable. She shook her head. No, he belonged to her school world, where he could walk her home, and give her small, strange presents, and -

Kagome frowned suddenly as she looked at Inuyasha still curled on the end of her bed like an oversized puppy. It was right that she should feel that Hojo in her room was inappropriate, she knew that. But as she searched through her feelings, there was nothing to indicate that she felt the same way about Inuyasha. It even felt strangely natural to have him this close to her. After three years of being in his almost constant company, it felt odd to sleep without him near. 

Kagome was worried suddenly about her complaisance about his company. Was it wrong to feel like that? But, she reminded herself, it wasn't like Inuyasha was a normal human boy. After all, despite his appearance, he was older than her grandfather and the perky white ears that twitched absently as he slept were unforgettable reminders that he was anything but human. So really it wasn't fair to compare her feelings towards Hojo and Inuyasha. They were worlds apart. She blushed, though there was no one there to see. 

Not that she had feelings for Inuyasha.

****

…

At least, not really. Maybe she had started to feel like that once, but it was really just a silly crush. They were just friends. She nodded to herself. That's right. Just friends. 

****

……

Just friends.

****

………

And if she happened to think he was cute, well, that was perfectly natural and had nothing whatsoever to do with her willingness to let him sleep on her bed.

Kagome blushed harder. That didn't come out quite the way she had meant. 

The click of the clock beside her bed alerted her to how late it was. Kagome yawned, and crawled the rest of the way under her covers, carefully avoiding disturbing the hanyou curled up on the end of her bed. Inuyasha shifted slightly at her movement, and one amber eye flicked open to check where she was. Satisfied that she was okay, he closed his eyes again and appeared to return to the deep sleep Kagome had noticed he only ever indulged himself in when he was here in her house. 

Seeing him settle, Kagome smiled. Inuyasha had the right of it. She should just stop worrying about her feelings and get some sleep before her exams tomorrow. 

Exams…

A shriek filled the Higurashi home.

"My studying! I haven't even started!"

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Wow! Its amazing how lazy you can be when you try, ne? ^_^ I cant believe how long its taken me to get this piddly little chapter out. Never fear though, the reason its taken me so long is that I've been writing bits of all the rest of the chapters instead of concentrating on this one like I should. So the bright side to all of this is that much of the following chapters are already written, so they shouldn't take me too long at all to post. ^_^

Muchos muchos gracias to the following reviewers – I can honestly say if it wasn't for you guys I would never finish this story

The-Real-Rosie-Gamgee : Okay, I absolutely had to give you something for using the word splendiferous ^_^ Its one of my absolutely favourite words, along with inexplicable and thwart ^_^ So... *searches around* ... would you like a Chupa-Chup? Raspberry ^_^

Cutie Blossom: Well, he kinda won...I guess - at least he got to stay and she didnt even sit him once! That counts as winning surely. Dont worry though - this is only the calm before the storm - you wait until he wakes up and blows it again ^_^

badgerwolf : I promise the Plan is in next chapter - at least the start of it. You know Miroku - his Plans are kinda intricate ^_^ I cant wait to see what you guys think of it.

m : I'm hoping you know who you are - thanks heaps for the compliment about understanding her. After all that must be the highest compliment of all for a fanfiction writer, to say that the character was portrayed accurately. *curtsey* So, thankyou, and I hope I did as well this chapter.

BlackCat131 : *blush* aw, shucks, thank you. Cute is what i do best ^_^

LadyWyrsa : *laughs, and offers more creaming soda and fairy-floss* No way, the more hyped up the better ^_^ I get nicer reviews that way. Miroku and Shippo in the next chapter! And *drumroll* The Plan... (Stage One) Miroku better hope Sango doesnt find out or else Shippo will tell on him, and thats not going to be pretty*shakes head regretfully* Nope, not pretty at all ....*evil grin*

ME : You're right - Miroku is gonna be in deeeeeep shit if Shippo decides to use his blackmail. So he better hope his plan works, dont you? Cause the last thing we want is for Sango to be mad at Miroku... ^_^ And yes, Inu/Kag fluff all the way. They're so cute ^_^

Inuyagura : Thanks ^_^ This is really heaps later than i usually update - i promise to update at least once a week form now on *adjust halo* really, i promise ^_^

and Angie : Shippo next chapter, I promise ^_^ Thanks heaps!

****

Special Note: To anyone who is a Inu/Kag, San/Mir fan! I just read THE best au fic and i want to recommend it to everybody. Kaerra's: Much Ado About Everything and Nothing - well worth the read. Not only does it have great Inuyasha and Kagome fluff ^_^ but it is also a really diverting look at Sango and Miroku's relationship. I cant say how much i love this fic ^_^ Please, go and try it


	5. you sure misunderstood

****

Two worlds, one family?

__

"Don't think that I'm not strong, I'm the one to take you on

Don't underestimate me boy, I'll make you sorry you were born

You don't know me the way you really should

You sure misunderstood…"

Miroku straightened from his cramped position on the ground where he had been tying careful lengths of string to the underside of a bush. Stretching slightly he glanced at the position of the sun before calling out to Shippo.

"Ne, Shippo! How's your side going?"

Shippo's voice floated cheerfully across the clearing to Miroku. "Almost finished. Just doing the last few knots now."

"Excellent," he smiled. "If you hurry up, we should have time for a bite to eat before our unsuspecting audience appears."

Shippo giggled and Miroku watched him fasten the last knot with his little fingers. Bending over beside the kitsune, Miroku swiftly checked the knots himself, tightening one where it had slipped a trifle too loose, before pulling Shippo to his feet with a smile. "Good work," he said approvingly to the boy. Shippo's face glowed at the compliment, and he squirmed happily. Miroku smiled down at him, warmed by his enthusiasm. It was good to see the young youkai happy. Lately the shadows crept over his small face more and more frequently. 

Everyone in their little tight-knit group had their troubles, however most of these would be resolved, or at least lightened with the destruction of Naraku. But for the little kitsune the completion of their quest only marked the beginning of his greatest fears. 

For when Naraku was destroyed, there would no longer be a reason for the group to stay together. Sango would go back to her village, Kagome would return to her own time and Inuyasha would either go to hell with Kikyou or accompany Kagome to a new life. 

But Shippo had nowhere to go. 

So the kitsune had come to Miroku with his troubles, looking for an answer that would ensure his adoptive family would stay together forever. And Miroku's heart had gone out to the little guy, knowing all to well what it was like to want somewhere to belong, and people to belong to. 

Such had been the birth of the Plan. 

Miroku realised Shippo was waiting for him to move. 

"Gomen, Shippo," he said, blinking. "I was just lost in thought there for a moment. 

"Yeah right," said Shippo. "I bet you were just thinking about Sango again."

"What?" said Miroku, slightly surprised.

"You were, werent you!" said Shippo triumphantly. "Kagome says that you are in love with her."

"Does she now," said Miroku calmly to hide the inexplicable heat that had risen to his cheeks at the thought. "Then you must inform Kagome-sama that she is incorrect."

"Sure," said Shippo cynically. 

Miroku looked at him calmly. Shippo transformed into Sango and pretended to fawn over Miroku. The houshi laughed at him, and batted the Shippo-Sango away… 

~*~

…Sango crept up behind the bush, determined to find out what was going on. 

The houshi-sama and Shippo had been acting odd all afternoon. At first she had dismissed it as just another one of their games, but when the guilty pair had stolen the parsley and sage with which she intended to make soup with, they had crossed the line. Most puzzling of all, Miroku had been taking pains not to leave Shippo and her alone. Usually Shippo would be left in her care while she made dinner, but every time she had seen Shippo that day Miroku was with him. The pair would glance in her direction and hurry off, as if they were afraid she would overhear them. 

Kirara prowled around her ankles, probably curious as to why her mistress was spying on her friends again. Sango reached down to rub her behind her ears again. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm just here to call them to dinner." Kirara looked up at her skeptically. Sango ignored her and peeked above the bush.

Her eyes went instantly to the middle of the clearing. Miroku was there, with his arms about a brown haired girl, laughing into her face. Shippo was nowhere to be seen. Sango shot back down behind the bush, her face red. That subeke! All this time he was just flirting with a girl! 

Not that she cared.

But if that was what he was doing, far be it from her to disturb him. He could just go without dinner. Shippo could have his portion. It would serve him right. 

~*~

"I said, stop this now," said Miroku firmly. The Shippo-Sango wiggled her fingers at him

Miroku reached behind the Shippo-Sango and gave the red bushy tail a sharp pull. Shippo transformed with a bound. 

"Hey, that hurt!" he said sulkily. 

Miroku wagged his finger at him. "Serves you right," he said. "Now that you have finished playing, feel like something to eat?"

The kitsune brightened instantly. "Sure!"

Miroku smiled down at him, and turned back towards the path. "Okay, then lets…" He frowned. "Did you see that?" he asked. 

"See what?" said Shippo.

"Sango. She was here."

Shippo looked alarmed. "But if she was here then she would have seen our Plan!"

Miroku frowned in agreement. "And it looks like she is heading straight for the Well to warn Inuyasha and Kagome-sama- OW!"

Shippo hit him with another acorn. "So go get her!" he said. "We cant let her warn the others, otherwise it'll all be spoilt, and I'll tell her what you did, and then you'll be in big trouble-"

But Miroku was already gone. 

~*~

Cool. Calm. Collected. So what if that subeke wanted to play around with another woman's feelings? It wasn't anything to do with her. She just felt sorry for the poor girl for when he eventually left her in pursuit of another pretty face. 

"Sango-sama," came the all too familiar voice from behind her. Sango gritted her teeth and kept walking. Kagome-chan would be back soon, and Sango wanted nothing better than to get on the road again. 

"Sango." 

His voice was firmer now, more commanding. She ignored her instinct to stop, shifting her Hikiarotsu on her shoulder to walk more swiftly. 

"Sango." Now he was beside her. 

Giving up her walk for lost, she halted abruptly. 

"What is it, houshi-sama?" she said without turning her head, then had to stop the wince on her face. That was too cold. Now he would think there was something wrong. 

"Where are you going?" he asked, seemingly not noticing her cold greeting. 

Huh. Her anger flared again. So much for the perceptive monk. He didn't even notice that she was angry with him. Or maybe he did notice and just didn't care. 

"Sango?"

"I am going for a walk," she said, trying to keep her countenance and tone even. If he didn't care, then she didn't either. Why should she care what he thought of her anyway? He was just one of her companions, nothing more. When this quest was finished they would part anyway. She tried to ignore the twist of pain that leapt in her stomach at the thought by concentrating on something else. 

Like the unfamiliar warmth on her left buttock. 

The warmth that was undoubtedly a warm hand on her bottom, where there definitely shouldn't be one. 

What came next was a reaction ingrained so deep that she was barely aware of it. 

"SUBEKE!" Slap! 

The houshi-sama picked himself up off the ground, a dazed smile on his face and a red handprint on the side of his face. He dusted himself off, seemingly unaffected by the fact that she had just slammed him into the ground. She glared at him, her resolution of calmness easily swallowed by her anger. Did _nothing_ upset him? 

He was making **that** face again. That smiling, polite, ever-so-respectful face that only ever went skin deep. And there was **that** friendly smile in his beautiful violet eyes that hid a blank wall where his soul should have been. An invisible wall that slammed down in her face. Damn the man. He kept his walls up so tight, his courtly mask never slipping to show the real man underneath. 

And it made her so **mad**. Didn't he trust her enough? Did he think that she would betray him if she knew what really thought once and a while? Dammit – after all they had gone through together, did she still mean so little to him?

Her other companions were easy to read. Kagome wore her emotions on the outside of her skin, it was one of the things that Sango loved about the girl. When Kagome cared about someone, it was out there for the whole world to see. Well, perhaps the whole world besides Inuyasha. If the two of them could only see that, they would be the perfect couple. But the Hanyou was as ever oblivious to the softer feelings of others, which didn't mean that he had none himself. Some things were bottled up inside him tightly, that Sango knew, but for anyone who had been the hanyou's constant companion for the amount of time she had, he was in reality as easy to read as Kagome. The only difference was that Kagome would say outright how she felt, whereas Inuyasha tried to hide under bluff words. The hanyou had gone through too much in his traumatic life to be easy about revealing what he saw as a weakness, but his body language more than compensating by shouting his feelings to the world for those with eyes to see. 

But the houshi-sama was the master of a thousand faces. The consummate actor after his life on the road charming young women, she was quite sure that no emotion appeared upon his face that he did not carefully intend to show. Nothing there was real. She suspected even his lechery was an act, part the grand maze of mirrors he had built around his heart. 

Then again, who would know? No one ever knew what Miroku really thought about anything, besides perhaps Naraku. Hatred was a safe emotion, one that you could let the world see without fear of being judged or laughed at. She knew that. The other emotions, like grief, or loneliness or even love were just too fragile to expose. That way lay only hurt and pain. It was one thing that she had learned all too well. 

So, hatred for his enemies and a polite friendliness for everyone else. Was that all Miroku had to offer? 

Or was it just that it was all he wanted to offer her…

Something unaccountable had risen up in her throat at the thought. She swallowed, feeling her eyes begin to prickle with tears. Why was she getting so worked up? It wasn't like she _wanted_ him to offer her anything else. She had had enough of his lecherous ways, thank you. 

Sango realised that she had been silent for too long. The houshi was waiting for a reply, a slightly puzzled look on his face. 

~*~

Miroku sensed the abrupt change of the pretty taiji-a's mood, but was uncertain as to what had caused it. He scanned his previous sentences for anything that could have been considered offensive, but nothing struck him as anything out of the ordinary. Sure, he had just tried to grope her, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. What then had set her off? 

Sango had already turned away from him as he stood in thought, and he lunged after her. 

"Sango!"

She stopped again, arrested by the urgency of his voice, but did not turn. He slipped in front of her, blocking her way. On no account could she be allowed to return to the Well before the Plan was safely underway. He had to distract her. 

"Sango, I came to inform you. There is a report of a youkai in the village."

She looked up at him instantly, as he had known she would. "Youkai?" she said sharply. "Where?" 

"I have sensed a strong jaki coming from one of the homes in the village," Miroku lied blandly. "It may be nothing, but I do not wish to risk the fact that it may not be."

"So why aren't you dealing with it already?" said Sango, her eyes still suspicious.

"This jaki…it feels strangely unsettling. I came back to ask for your assistance," he said, letting his face slip into a careful mix of concern and seriousness. "Also Shippo is missing, and I had hoped that you were with him."

Sango immediately frowned, her suspicions fled in a flash of worry. "I last saw him in the village, playing with one of the village kids," she said. "You don't think…"

Miroku felt a brief flash of satisfaction. She had taken the bait. "I do not wish to alarm you unnecessarily, but I am worried that our little friend might be caught up in this."

Sango met his eyes in understanding, then spun on her heel, and started running towards the village. "Hurry, then, houshi-sama!" she called back urgently over her shoulder. 

He tightened his grip on his staff and began to run after her. _Perfect_

As he ran, Miroku glanced at the sky, his internal clock nudging him in reminder that the hour was getting late. Inuyasha was due to arrive at sunset, Kagome in tow, and he was supposed to be there to greet them. 

But could he safely leave Sango alone at this point?

Shippo knew what to do after all. Miroku was only meant to be there to give the Plan more depth, the extra personal touch he preferred in a well orchestrated scheme. But desperate times called for desperate measures. It was more important right now that someone keep Sango away from the scene to prevent any complications. Shippo could manage by himself. After all, he had only Kagome and Inuyasha to fool, and both were reliably predictable in their reactions. The Plan he had devised was based on that, after all. 

Surely things would be fine. 

He glanced up at the graceful figure of the youkai hunter as she ran in front of him and corrected himself. That is, things _would_ be fine until Sango realised that there was no youkai at the village. Until she realised that he had deliberately mislead her. Then he would have a Hikiarotsu shaped dint on the side of his head the size of a house, and Sango would be running off to intervene in the Plan and possibly ruin it all. 

Miroku shook his head, and tried to regain his usual optimistic outlook. Even when the inevitable happened, hopefully by then Shippo would have launched the first stages of the Plan, and it would be too late for Sango to hinder it by the time they got back. 

Hopefully. He frowned worriedly to himself as he ran, following Sango into the forest, then sighed softly.

The Plan was not off to a good start.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Many thanks to Misao CG, Tory.Annon, Orchidaceae and Inuyagura for reviewing - yes I know I said once a week, and I really usually do, I swear! I have nothing to offer as a excuse for my lazyness except for a brief bout of feeling inadequate as a writer and getting way too involved in the Inuyasha episodes I'm watching. (Am up to ep. 91!) Will be better in future. On the bright side, the last three chapters of this fic are complete - I just need to write the middle three. I promise I will have the next chapter up by the weekend - in fact am going to go work on it now. ^_^  
Love, Melodylink


	6. somewhere I belong

Disclaimer: Whoever owns Inu Yasha should hurry up and make Inuyasha and Kagome get together

****

**Two worlds, one family?**

_"_**I WANNA HEAL, I WANNA FEEL, WHAT I THOUGHT WAS NEVER REAL**   
**I WANNA LET GO OF THE PAIN I'VE FELT SO LONG**  
**I WANNA HEAL, I WANNA FEEL LIKE IM CLOSE TO SOMETHING REAL**  
**I WANNA FIND SOMETHING IVE WANTED ALL ALONG**   
**SOMEWHERE I BELONG …"**

_He was taller now, looking more like the Inuyasha she knew. Kagome watched silently as he walked the forest, the only splash of colour in a world of greys. His face was set in that defensive scowl she knew so well, and his arms cradled something inside his robes, which Kagome realised was the glowing thing he had tried to offer the villagers before. Somewhere deep down, she dimly knew that she must be dreaming, that this wasn__'__t real, but it didn__'__t seem to be important.  _

_He paused in a clearing by a stream, going over to the bank to lift water to his mouth with cupped hands. Kagome looked away, around the clearing, and almost jumped out of her skin in shock. _

_On the other side of the clearing was a woman, dressed in the traditional red and white robes of a miko. Kagome stared at her in astonishment. Aside from Inuyasha, she was the only person she had seen in this world that was wearing colour. She regarded the hanyou with an unfathomable look on her face._

_The woman__'__s stare must have alerted Inuyasha to her presence, and he swung around to lock gazes with the woman in red. _

_The two of them stood still, a moment frozen in time. Kagome__'__s heart was in her mouth as she watched. Somewhere on the edge of her mind she knew that she knew this woman from somewhere, but the details evaded her. She watched as Inuyasha, slowly, almost hesitantly reached into his robes and withdrew the glowing object. He held it in his hand for a moment, obviously unwilling to risk another rejection. Emotions flickered across his face, and Kagome__'__s heart twisted inside to see his turmoil._

_'__You can do it,__"__ she whispered encouragingly. __'__Go on. I believe in you.__"___

_As if he had heard her words, his expression suddenly settled on determination. Taking a quick step forward, he proffered the glowing thing to the woman in red. _

_She seemed to consider it for a long, breathless moment. Kagome was holding her own breath behind her bush, feeling if this woman rejected his gift as well, it would break her beloved hanyou, and in some strange way, break her own heart. How had she gotten so caught up in this?_

_Inuyasha__ was still waiting, and his ears were beginning to droop. Obviously this woman was no different form the rest of them. He started to pull his arm back, when the woman__'__s own hand snapped out and grabbed his wrist. Inuyasha and Kagome both looked at her in surprise. Kagome had been sure that she would reject him. What was happening?_

_The woman in red reached out with her other hand, and slowly, carefully, removed the object from his hand with her own delicate white one. _

_Kagome__'__s heart leapt. She had taken it! Inuyasha didn__'__t seem to know what to do. A dazed smile was on his face. The woman turned then without a word to walk away. Inuyasha snapped out of his daze and followed her, still looking bemused and happy. _

_Kagome too, stood to follow the pair, but her attention was arrested by the dark thing that had been following the woman in red. Like some huge, hairy spider, it scuttled after them. Kagome could feel the malicious intent exuding from the creature, and struck with an impending sense of doom, began to run in the direction Inuyasha and the woman in red had gone. She must warn them! _

_The black thing seemed to become aware of her efforts to catch up with them, and lashed out with a jagged bolt of darkness which tripped at her feet and sent fiery pain through her legs. She lay on the ground, unable to move. _

_~~~~_

_For an eternity of time, she seemed to swim in darkness. Faces, memories seemed to float through her consciousness. She could see her mother__'__s face, smiling lovingly down at her, and remember the pain in her knee the first time she had fallen off her bike.  _

_One face in particular seemed to appear more often than all the rest, and Kagome tried to figure out who it was. Someone with long hair and golden eyes who seemed to be reaching out to her desperately. Kagome caught the urgency in his face, and tried to remember. There was something she was supposed to be doing. Something important…Something to do with warning someone…a spider…_

Inuyasha!_ Her eyes snapped open. _The bad thing, and the woman in red! She had to warn them!

_She was back, in the mysterious world of greys. Fire burned through her legs from where the black thing had struck her, and she winced as she stumbled to her feet. The bad thing was nowhere in sight. _

_With a terrible premonition she ran desperately in the direction Inuyasha and the woman in red had gone. At last, she caught a glimpse of red though the grey trees and summoning reserves of strength she didn__'__t know she had, she ran towards them. She burst into the clearing, her mouth open to warn them, but skidded to a stop in horror. _

_The black thing was poised on the woman__'__s shoulder, whispering into her ear. Kagome could feel the aura around the woman grow dark with anger, and knew that the thing was poisoning her mind. Stumbling forward, she opened her mouth to warn the woman, warn Inuyasha, but she was too late. _

_The black thing whispered a final command into the ear of the red woman, then jumped clear. In a flash, the woman had a bow drawn and an arrow pointing straight at the bewildered Inuyasha.  He froze, and Kagome watched as the woman in red let go of the arrow. It arced across the clearing in horrible slow-motion to strike Inuyasha in the chest, pinning the hanyou to the tree behind him. _

_The woman in red was suddenly holding the glowing gift Inuyasha had given her in her hand. With a look of contempt on her face, she threw it back at the hanyou. _

_Kagome watched helplessly as the gift Inuyasha had given the woman made a slow arc in the sky, to fall at Inuyasha__'__s feet. It made a shattering sound as it hit the ground, breaking in half. The light which Kagome had thought so beautiful, disappeared, leaving only the cracked remains of its container on the earth before Inuyasha. _

_Kagome made a muffled sound, and realised she was crying. Hot tears rolled down her face, her eyes blinded by the heart-breaking grief that wrenched her soul. She no longer cared why she was having such an emotional response to what was happening. All that mattered was that Inuyasha had been rejected again, and she could feel his pain. _

_A snapping sound brought her head up, and she struggled to see through her tears. The black thing was bending over the woman in red. With a gasp, Kagome saw him snap her neck. The black thing looked up at her involuntary sound, and grinned a terrrifying grimace at her. With that, the bad thing and the woman in red disappeared, leaving Inuyasha pinned to a tree with the arrow he had been so cruelly shot with. _

_Kagome longed to run forward and comfort him. She had even taken a few steps towards him, when she stopped, horrified. In slow-motion, like some terrible black and white horror film,  she saw his head loll to one side, his eyes closed, his face open and vacant._

_He was dead._

~*~

Inuyasha was upright and halfway across the room to Kagome before he realised he was awake. Kagome cried out in her sleep again, causing him to jolt forward involuntarily to her side. 

The dark-haired school-girl was tossing in her sleep, a look of distress clear on her face. 

_A nightmare. She__'__s having a nightmare, that__'__s all. _He breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief. When her desperate cries had awoken him, a hundred terrible scenarios had flashed though his mind – Kagome attacked, Kagome hurt, Kagome dying – but a bad dream was nothing to worry about. She was safe, in her own room in her own time, and he was here with her. She was safe. 

Inuyasha grimaced to himself. He _should_ probably wake her though. The whimpering cries she was making were disturbing him more than he would like to admit. All he knew was that he would definitely never manage to go back to sleep with her tossing around on the bed like that.

Approaching her cautiously, Inuyasha hesitated, before lightly grabbing her arms and shaking her slightly.

 "Kagome." She didn't stir, only increased her soft, whimpering cries. 

"Kagome!" He shook her a bit more firmly. 

Still no response.

"Kag- OW!" Inuyasha let go of the girl with a gasp, his hands flying to his abused nose. Kagome sat straight up in bed with a cry. She seemed lost for a second, until her eyes focussed on the sulky hanyou sitting beside her, nursing a bruise on his face. Her eyes widened with a surprise Inuyasha didnt understand. He opened his mouth to yell at her for hitting him, when she reached out a gentle hand to his face.  

"You're okay," she breathed, as if it was the biggest miracle she had ever seen, instead of a damn stupid observation. 

He scowled at her, confused. "Of course I'm okay, bitch. You don't hit _that_ hard-" Inuyasha didn't get to finish his complaint as an armful of Kagome barreled into him, almost knocking him off the bed again. 

Soft arms went around his neck, and she buried her face into the crook of his neck "Oh my god, Inuyasha," she mumbled into his shirt. "I thought you were dead."

Inuyasha panicked. Kagome was hugging him tightly, almost sitting in his lap. The thin material of her sleeping-clothes did nothing to disguise the feeling of her warm body pressed firmly against him, and he could feel her hot tears slide down his neck. _Oh shit._

She needed to stop crying. Gingerly, he slid his arms around her, allowing the tips of his fingers to rest lightly on her back, trying to comfort her enough so that she would stop all this weird shit and become Kagome again. Unfortunately, the girl just seemed to sob louder at his touch, clinging to him almost desperately. Inuyasha scowled helplessly. He should have known he would be no good at all this comforting stuff. It was the sort of thing Miroku was good at, not him. All he was doing was upsetting her more. He had a hazy memory of his mother stroking his back while he was upset, and hesitantly laid his hand on her back, stroking lightly. 

_Kagome…what's wrong with you?_

~*~

Kagome buried herself in Inuyasha's arms, letting his warmth soak into her, soothing her fears. _It was just a dream. Just a dream. Its okay, its okay…_

She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Her practical side told her that she had overreacted. Of course it was just a dream. She laid her cheek on his chest, feeling his heart beat loudly. The details of her nightmare were already beginning to fade. She had seen Inuyasha die, but who had shot him? Someone dressed in red...or was it just Inuyasha's red haori she could remember?

Kagome froze suddenly, reality seeping through her half-asleep mind. 

Inuyasha.

Who was not dead, but here.

In her room.

Rubbing his warm hands slowly up and down her back- 

"Gaah!"

Kagome leapt away from Inuyasha, her feet becoming tangled in the bedclothes until she tripped and felloff the bed. She sat up, blushing furiously.  

"Inuyasha!"

"What?"  
"Sit!"

~*~

It seemed to take forever for Kagome to finish school. 

Inuyasha passed the time playing with Buyo. 

The ginger cat's apathetic lethargy fascinated him. No matter what he did to the creature, Buyo would only mew pathetically and wait for him to stop. It was unnatural. The house-pet seemed to have the aggressive instincts of a blanket. 

No wonder he lived with the Higurashi's, Inuyasha thought scornfully.  If  he had been left in the wild, he would have been eaten long ago. 

The next moment Inuyasha paused, his hands holding the ginger cat on his hind legs up in the air, his ears twitching. 

She was home. 

It still took Inuyasha another couple of hours before he managed to drag Kagome back to the Well. He pushed her forcefully towards it, scowling at the sunset, and once they were inside the Well house, he grabbed her gigantic yellow pack and jumped over the lip without a backwards glance.

Kagome sighed and jumped after him without comment. The word 'sit' had hovered about her mouth several times that afternoon, but she was checked by the memory of Inuyasha trying to comfort her this morning, and his big eyes looking confused and concerned. She hit the bottom with a thud, and paused for a moment, trying to get her breath back. 

"Oi, bitch, get a move on!"  

Kagome pulled herself up out of the Well, muttering comments about loud-mouthed jerks and how some people needed to learn some manners. Her monologue was cut short however when she reached the top of the Well, and saw the scene that was before her. Her face drained of colour, and she turned to Inuyasha, who looked back at her blankly, her shock mirrored in his golden eyes. 

Next Chapter….The Plan! *cue dramatic music* ^_^

Many thanks to Inuyagura, Namiko-Daughter of Sekhmet The-Real-Rosie-Gamgee, natt, Orchidaceae, ejqHorseLady and 'unknown' ^_^ You guys rule!


	7. setting things in motion

****

Well, here we are – a shorter chapter than usual today cause I'm dead busy, and almost falling off my chair with tiredness. I just wanted to apologise for the way I ended then last chapter – I didn't even realise it was a cliffhanger until I started getting reviews complaining about it. I just thought to myself, 'that would be a good place to stop.' I guess I didn't think about it cause I already knew what happened next, so it wasn't even remotely suspenseful for me. ^_^ On a disclaimer note, apart form the usual 'I don't own Inuyasha blah', I realised I have neglected to say where all my song quotes are from. So, in order, I have used lyrics from the following sources: _It's all been done _- Barenaked Ladies, _Journey to the Past _- from Anastasia, _By Myself _– Linkin Park, _Don't call me Baby _– Madison Avenue, _Somewhere I Belong_ – Linkin Park, and here I've used _Eye to Eye _from _A Goofy Movie_. Needless to say, I don't own any of these songs. 

****

Two Worlds, One Family

__

"I've set myself in motion

And for once, I know that you'll understand

To set the world in motion

By reaching out for each others hand"

Kagome stared around at the clearing in shock. The neat green grass around the Well was torn in great rents, like some giant had swept his claws across the ground. Footprints were scuffed across the ground that had been turned up so that the damp earth saw the sky. It looked like a great battle had taken place, tearing up the ground and making chaos out of what had been a peaceful clearing. 

But what made her heart thump and her throat constrict though was the tiny green and yellow bundle of cloth lying in the middle of the clearing. It was torn in places, and half covered in dirt and other, darker, more sinister marks. Suddenly Kagome felt like she couldn't breathe. _Shippo's jacket._

She darted a swift glance at Inuyasha, who was staring at the jacket as well. He felt her eyes upon him and looked at her, his eyes as serious as her own. 

"What hap-"

"Shippo was attacked," Inuyasha cut her off, his eyes darting off her, sweeping the clearing. "By something big."

"What-"

"Youkai," he answered curtly. "About an hour ago."

"Is he okay?"

Inuyasha didn't reply, but gave her a withering glance, as if she had asked the most stupid question possible. 

Kagome flushed, her eyes straying again to the crimson stains on Shippo's tiny jacket. Her heart caught in her throat again. What had happened to Shippo? Where was he?

~*~

Shippo was waiting in the shadows deep in the trees, holding his breath. Inuyasha's senses were much sharper than his own, and if he happened to catch even the tiniest trace of Shippo's scent than everything would all be over before it had begun. Absently his hand pressed down on the bandage that covered his right arm. Miroku had made the cut as small and neat as he could, but it still stung. After letting his blood soak his jacket, they had wrapped the wound tighter than was really comfortable, knowing that they couldn't afford to let the scent of his blood seep through the bandage. 

He could see Kagome and Inuyasha across the clearing standing by the Well as if dumbstruck. They had been frozen there ever since they had jumped out of the Well. Inuyasha even still held Kagome's yellow backpack in one hand as he stared around the clearing, her mouth open in shock, his eyes narrowly scanning the perimeter.

Shippo's attention, however was suddenly focussed on Kagome's gigantic yellow backpack. The top gaped open due to Inuyasha's careless hold on it, and Shippo caught a tantalizing glimpse of a few brightly coloured objects that had tipped out onto the grass. _Lollies!_

His mouth gaped open for a second, almost drooling at the sight. For a moment, all thoughts of the Plan were gone, and all he could think of was getting his hands on the sweet goodies that Kagome had _clearly_ brought back just for him. He had even taken a step forward until the sudden twitching of Inuyasha's ears in his direction jolted him back to his senses. He clapped his hands to his mouth and froze, holding his breath again.

Panic froze in cold icicles in the base of his stomach. _Stupid, stupid, _he chanted furiously at himself.What was the first rule of hiding from a predator? _Always_ keep your mouth closed! The pheromones that he expelled with each breath were a far better give away than if he had stood in front of them soaked with bright blue paint.

Shippo swiveled his eyes from side to side desperately. Where the hell was Miroku? He was supposed to have turned up hours ago. Trust the houshi to be gone at a critical moment. Inuyasha's sense of smell was about ten times sharper than his own, so Shippo had no idea if he would be able to smell him from that distance. For all he knew, Inuyasha could have already smelt the scent of his saliva in the air. And if Inuyasha had sensed him, then the Plan was as good as ruined

~*~

Kagome was the first to react. With a strangled cry, she leapt forward to the pathetic little bundle of cloth that lay on the ground. Swallowing hard, she reached forth a trembling hand to touch it, but her wrist was seized firmly before she could get even close to it. 

Kagome looked up in surprise. Inuyasha had grabbed her arm, and was looking intently at the jacket on the ground. The scent on the jacket was strong, mixed with another, unwelcome scent. 

Youkai. A big one. If he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply he could see the images in his head, like a picture made of scents and movements. Shippo had been caught here alone, near the Well, probably waiting for Kagome and himself to return. There was the scent of Miroku's air rip, but no sign that Sango or Kirara had been near. More puzzling was the fact that although the fading traces of the houshi's air rip still lingered about the clearing, there was no scent of Miroku himself. The force of the wind must have swept the clearing free of his scent as well as his enemy. Shippo's scent was still loud and clear though, which meant that his encounter with the youkai must have occurred _after_ Miroku's fight. 

A current of breeze drifted past his face and he snapped his head in the direction it came from. A suspicion filled his mind, and he took a quick half-step towards the trees. 

The movement was arrested however when he glimpse of Kagome in the corner of his eye. She was standing up slowly, her bow in her hand and her quiver slung over her shoulder. She turned to look at Inuyasha with an almost fierce expression on her face, the tiny rag that used to be Shippo's jacket clenched in her other fist. Golden eyes locked with warm brown in complete understanding of a shared fear. She broke eye contact first, her fingers tightening unconsciously on the material in her hand. 

Inuyasha lingered in the background for a moment. For a second he had thought – But no. Shippo was obviously gone. The blood on the jacket was unquestionably his, the scent sending his protective instincts into overdrive. Dimly he was aware that his mind was trying to tell him something, something important it had noticed. But the tiny voice of reason was drowned out by the deep primal growl that came from somewhere dark within. Shippo was _his. _He belonged to _his _pack. How _dare_ anyone think they could take Shippo away from him. 

His eyes went flat with anger, and suddenly he was running towards the path before he was even aware of moving, snatching Kagome by the wrist and hoisting her without ceremony onto his back as he went past. Faintly his mind registered her indistinct 'ouf' of surprise, but the greater part of his senses were focussed on the scent ahead of him. He would find Shippo and return him to his proper place in his pack. He would find those foolish people that dared hurt the small kitsune. 

And then?

Then they would _die._

~*~

Shippo let out a shuddering sigh of relief once he determined the pair were far enough away for safety's sake. That had been just too close for comfort. If Inuyasha hadn't been distracted at just that moment, Shippo would have been discovered for sure, and all Miroku and his careful preparations gone for naught. How stupid of him to be so easily distracted by something as trivial as lollies!

__

Mmm…Lollies…

Swallowing hard, Shippo tried to force his mind away from food. _This is no time to be thinking of your stomach_, he scolded himself. Bigger things were at stake here. His hand crept inside his shirt to touch the carefully folded paper that lay hidden next to his skin. It rustled quietly and its comforting presence reminded him afresh of what he was here for. Withdrawing his hand, he straightened his shoulders, his face set with new purpose. This was the first stage of the Plan, and he was determined that for once, he wouldn't do anything to mess it up. 

After all, if things worked out, Kagome would _give_ the lollies to him later anyway. 

All he had to do was wait.

His mind set with new purpose, Shippo carefully scampered out of his hiding place, and sped away to implement Stage Two of the Plan. 

Gomen ne! What a week! Sorry about the delay in updating, but these last two weeks have been some of the busiest of my life. Friday was opening night for our show, and we spent the week in frantic rehearsal, steadily getting worse the more we practiced. On Thursday night we had our last dress rehearsal, and it was beyond terrible. Everyone was cranky and tired and forgetting our lines and cues – come Friday our director actually threw up before the show he was that nervous. And * blush * he probably had a right to be. Lets just say that we ad-libbed a whole lot more than reasonably acceptable, and with Shakespeare that's hard to do. But our performance on Saturday was as near perfect as possible, so I guess it makes up for it. * Deep sigh * Two nights down, three to go! 

And of course it doesn't help that I've been working all week , so every spare minute that wasn't taken up by making sandwiches or taking tourists around the zoo was either crammed with frantic Shakespeare rehearsals or snatching a few moments of sleep.

However, after this weekend, the show will be over and I should have plenty of free time to write faster. I really want to finish this story – I'm about half-way done – the climax will be in the next three or four chapters, then we have one more chapter to wrap it up. So close to the end!

Once again, many grateful thanks to the following reviewers - Elyndewen Startree

Inuyagura, ME, Lord Setsanu, Ryguy5387, Yami Yuugi Lover AKA Kiyo, Arcia, The-Real-Rosie-Gamgee, we love link, CRAZYGIRL, Aslan's Own, Caligo Origuu, The Youkai Nightmare, SilverShadow, Monk , Miss Queen of the World, ejqHorseLady, Orchidaceae, Namiko-Daughter of Sekhmet. Your reviews were all fantastic - I cant get enough of it! Oh and by the way, Lord Setsanu - you were absolutely right about the glowing thing - way to go!


	8. the little voice in my head

Disclaimer: Me no own In-u-ya-sha L 

****

Two worlds, one family?

__

"The little voice in my head won't let me forget

The little voice in my head is never mislead

All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess

The little voice in my head just won't let me get with you"

Meanwhile, Miroku was having problems of his own. 

On second thought, leading Sango to the village on the false premise of a youkai threat had not been a plan with long term solutions. No matter how well he dissembled, Sango would discover his duplicity soon enough. Sure, it was for the greater good, but he couldn't help trying to think of an outcome to this noble sacrifice of his that did not involve him getting clobbered over the head with a surprisingly painful boomerang. 

No such luck.

Sango strode ahead of him now, her figure outlined gracefully in her form-fitting taijiya outfit. Miroku took the opportunity of watching her walk ahead of him, an alluring prospect at any time, and one that was considerably alleviating his present difficulties. 

They were drawing close to the village, which meant closer to Miroku's doom – at least as far as Sango was concerned. 

"Houshi-sama."

Sango was saying something. She was probably about to ask about the jaki. They were close to the village now, and she would be able to feel the complete absence of negative energy as well as he did. She was about to find out that he had lied to her, which meant he had to think of an idea fast. 

At least, he reasoned with himself, at least Sango was a reasonable woman. He would eventually have to tell her the truth anyway, she was too intelligent to not figure it out after a while. It was in his best interests to confess as soon as expedient. He would be in less trouble if she heard it from him, rather than having to work it out herself. And once she realised the great cause that he was undertaking, she would probably agree that the ends justified the means. 

This is not to say that she wouldn't hit him first. 

He sighed. Things would have been much easier if Sango had been included in their Plan from the start. She probably would have entered into it enthusiastically. Just as Miroku had, Sango would have seen through Shippo's scatterbrained attempt to justify his plans to the real truth – that Shippo wanted a family again, and was willing to go to any lengths to keep their little ragtag group together. 

To tell the truth, Sango's intelligence and willingness to work would have been a great help, especially in the practical elements. In fact, if she were involved, like she should have been all along, he wouldn't have had to leave Shippo all alone. It really gave him an uneasy feeling to think of the little kitsune handling the Plan by himself. What would happen if something went wrong? He had tried to keep the Plan as simple as possible, but the unexpected was something that he could not factor into account, no matter how good he was.

"Houshi-sama." 

There she went again. _Houshi-sama_. Why did Sango always call him that? 

It was not like he didn't enjoy the sound of her soft dark voice calling him so respectful a title, even after all he had done that had surely convinced her of his less than pure character.

But… They had been companions for almost a year now. Surely that demanded some change in address. After all, they were a tight-knit group that was closer in most ways than any of the families they belonged to. 

Not that that was hard, he thought, momentarily distracted. Family was a touchy subject in this group. Neither Shippo nor himself had any family now to make a comparison to, and Sango had only the heart-wrenching knowledge of Kohaku's half-life to sustain her. As for Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha … well, it wouldn't be difficult to find a warmer bond than those two shared. In fact, Kagome-sama was the only one of the group that had a fully functional family. Yet even she was part of the closeness they all shared, the unspoken bond that drew them all together. 

But he was still 'houshi-sama'. Inuyasha she called by his name, and Kagome had an affectionate –chan added to hers. Even Shippo rated an fond suffix on those few occasions Sango found it necessary to address him by name. 

And he was houshi-sama, the same title now as it had been the day they met. Not Miroku-sama, or Miroku-kun, or even just plain Miroku. _Houshi-sama_, as if she were purposely avoiding the use of his name. 

He scowled at her back, watching her hips sway unconsciously as she strode ahead of him. Why wouldn't she call him by name? Everyone else did. Was there something repellant about the word, about the sound of the syllables together? What on earth was wrong?

Rationally, Miroku knew it wasn't anything to be worried about. Sango was brought up to be polite to strangers, and though he was far from one now, his title was really the correct form of address. What she called him didn't make any difference to the bond he felt underneath. She could call him cabbage-head, and he would still know she meant him by the tone of her voice, by the look in her eye. It worked that way. He was satisfied with the arrangement. After all, it wasn't like they were anything more intimate than the proper courtesies would suggest. In most places, he knew that it would not be proper for him to address Sango in the fashion that he did now. The taijiya was merely adhering to the correct etiquette, and it was very right that she should do so. Sango and he were companions, friends, someone the other could be sure to rely on when times got rough. Names were just labels, unimportant in the grand scheme of things. 

…and yet…

And yet, sometimes, he found himself staring at her, wondering how his name would sound on her lips. 

~*~

"Houshi-sama!" 

Sango glared at her companion in irritation. He was gazing ahead, his violet eyes unfocussed, as if he was thinking of something completely different. A soft, almost wistful smile was on his face, and briefly Sango wondered what he was thinking of. She had called out to him three times now, and he hadn't even so much as blinked. 

Probably some pretty girl somewhere, she decided, looking at the dazed expression on his face. Something twisted in the pit of her stomach, and she suddenly felt angry. The last of her patience was gone, and she bonked him over the head with her hiraikotsu. 

The houshi blinked, his eyes refocussing on her face. 

"Sango?" he asked, all attention now, that charming smile on his face again. 

"Glad you decided to pay attention to me," she said caustically. 

He looked faintly puzzled for a moment. "Have I done anything to upset you?" he asked, his smooth voice radiating innocent bewilderment.

Sango gave up. "Look, we're near the village now, and I cant sense any of the jaki you were talking about. Where is it?"

For a moment Sango thought he looked flustered. Then the mask was back, so swiftly that she wondered if she had ever seen the flicker of panic. 

He appeared to withdraw for a moment, using his senses to search out the air. He opened his eyes, surprise mirrored in their violet depths. "You're right," he said, a touch of concern lacing his voice. "I wonder if something has happened?" he turned to her. "Sango, what do you think?"

For a moment, she almost believed him. He looked so sincere, his perfect face touched with just the right amount of worry and determination. But then she remembered the stolen parsley and sage, and that tiny flicker of panic when she had asked him what was going on. 

He was lying to her.

"There was no jaki, was there?" she demanded. It wasn't a question.

Miroku looked guilty, like a puppy that despite all your best efforts, had widdled on the carpet. 

"Gomen ne, Sango," he said, his eyes limpid and contrite. "It was for the best of reasons, I swear."

"You _lied_ to me!" Somehow that hurt more than anything. What would it take for him to trust her, like she trusted him? She narrowed her eyes at the houshi, determined to get the truth out of him. What did it take to get something genuine out of the man?

"I assure you, my dear Sango, I had no illusions of the sort. I was merely…adjusting the truth for better presentation. It was for the best of reasons."

The words rang genuine, but Sango wasn't listening to the tone anymore. He was still lying to her, she could see it in those oh so innocent eyes. 

He was playing with her. Teasing her! As if she was too simple to really understand what he was doing, and he was just holding her off

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" she yelled at him. Why didn't he trust her?

Miroku looked at her apologetically. "Gomen ne, Sango. A little voice told me that it would be better this way."

__

A little voice. 

Suddenly the world receded, Miroku's face blurring away. 

__

A little voice. 

The words brought different memories surging back, and a pink flush stained her cheeks. Suddenly she realised how close she was standing to the houshi, even as she fought with him. Wasn't that what Kagome had said? A little voice in her head ….

.

.

.

__

They had been bathing, down at the lake. Sango had made some comment on the music they could hear floating faintly out of the village. That had prompted Kagome to scramble in her pack she had brought down to the water side, to keep the food away from Shippo's eager hands and Inuyasha's stomach. Sango watched her, puzzled as the girl from the future withdrew a small silver box. 

"This is a 'cd player' she explained to Sango. "It plays music other people have recorded. Do you want to hear some?"

At Sango's curious nod, she had pressed a small button on the side of the box. Immediately a soft noise was projected out of the silver box, much louder than seemed possible for something so small to make.   
Kagome saw her bewilderment and laughed, turning the volume up on the tiny music-box. The sound swelled and filled the clearing, a slow enticing beat like nothing Sango had ever heard before. 

"What is this?" she wondered out loud. The combination of the syncopated beat and the almost sultry attitude of the singer… It was almost…sexy, a kind of suggestive tune that brought a pink flush to her cheeks. Miroku would have loved it. Kagome laughed at her embarrassment. 

"Its an foreign song. This style of music is very popular where I come from."

As if to demonstrate, Kagome began singing along with the foreign words. Sango was fascinated. The rhythm was like nothing she had ever heard before, and there was a strange attraction in the exotic sound of the syllables 

Kagome abruptly stopped singing and looked at Sango. "You know," she said. "This song always kind of reminded me of you."

Sango was surprised.

"Of me?" She looked curiously at her young friend. "Why?"

Kagome smiled back at her. "Oh, just the words, sometimes."

Sango was piqued. "Tell me what they are."

Kagome looked sideways at her, then stood up again, a playful look on her face. Deftly she pressed a small button on the side of the music-box and the song stopped abruptly, then began to play the opening bars again. Satisfied, the dark-haired schoolgirl began to dance, an almost scandalous swaying motion of her hips now emphasized by her hands as she danced to the beat. Sango felt the heat rise in her cheeks as she watched. It was a good thing the boys weren't here to see this. Kagome didn't seem to be worried about it though, and Sango recalled that people were much more free about using their bodies where she came from. Kagome sang along to the recording as she danced. However this time, she switched to Japanese, translating the lyrics so that Sango could understand.

****

"I won't tell you what I'm thinking

Cause its not the same thing you're thinking too

You could say I've got a best friend 

And she's always telling me what to do

She's out of sight, but easy to find

She's in the front of my mind"

Kagome's eyes flashed at Sango, the half-teasing, half-serious look in their warm brown depths arresting Sango. She couldn't understand yet what Kagome was going on about. What did this song have to do with her?

****

"The little voice in my head won't let me forget

The little voice in my head is never mislead

All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess

The little voice in my head just won't let me get with you"

Sango wrinkled her brow in puzzlement. What was going on? Kagome obviously thought that the words in the song related to her in some way, but Sango couldn't quite comprehend what it meant. What little voice? Surely, Kagome didn't think she heard voices, and this was her tactful way of telling her? Sango dismissed the idea as soon as it floated though her head. No, it wasn't that. What was Kagome really trying to say?

Some of her bewilderment must have shown on her face, for Kagome frowned slightly before going into the next verse, and obviously decided to try a different plan of attack. Tugging Sango to her feet, she pulled her in to dance with her, encouraging Sango to sway along to the beat. The taijiya blushed, and tried to push her away, embarrassed, but Kagome would have none of it. Grinning at Sango, she caught hold of her hands and guided her in the steps. 

Sango surrendered to the inevitable, and let her body find the beat of the music, trying to ignore the pink or embarrassment that seemed permanently fixed to her cheeks. It was kind of … fun, in a way, to dance like this. 

****

"When I see you I admit I 

Start to lose my grip and all of my cool

You smell so sweet, just like my perfume, 

What have you been doing since I left you?"

Sango blushed at the words. This verse was definitely talking about a man. The first two lines raised a picture in her head, a remembered feeling in her stomach. It was … well, to be honest it was like how she felt every now and then, around… well, around that houshi. Whenever he moved to close to her, she became flustered, and it was hard to keep her thoughts on track. 

Only because she was wary of him trying to feel her up, of course. That was all. And she didn't think he smelt sweet at all. No way. Actually, he had more of a clean scent, like fresh water running over rocks, or the smell of ferns after it rained. Not sweet_. Definitely not sweet. _

But nice, all the same…

****

"You're always there in my thoughts.."

Kagome pulled Sango up close to her, and they swayed together to the music. Sango closed her eyes, in tune with the strange-but-fun music, smiling almost happily. 

That is, until she felt the warmth of a hand on her butt. 

"Subeke!"

Sango swung round, arm raised, to find only Kagome standing behind her, and Miroku nowhere in sight. Her mouth dropped open. "Wha..?"

Kagome grinned at her and Sango's mind reeled. If the perverted houshi himself was not here…Did that mean Kagome had just done what she thought she had just done? 

Kagome laughed at her _shock, singing the next line almost deliberately. _

****

"But that doesn't mean that its on.."

Sango stared at her friend in confusion. Why on earth had Kagome done that? She was pretty sure it wasn't part of the dance. And she had sung that line afterwards so emphatically, as if she was trying to make her understand.

****

"The little voice in my head wont let me forget

The little voice in my head is never mislead

All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess

The little voice in my head just wont let me get with you"

Sango stepped back from Kagome, no longer dancing. So, Kagome was still trying to show her why she thought this song was about her in some obscure way.

Sango couldn't concentrate though. Her mind just kept balking at what Kagome had just done. It was…unbelievable, not in character for the usually shy schoolgirl. It was like something Miroku would do-

Sango's heart skipped a beat, feeling her cheeks grow hot. 

Like something Miroku would do. 

Miroku.

****

"I know I sound insane, like I'm playing games

Cause all I really want is you

But there's some things a girl won't do.."

Sango flushed, suddenly understanding. Kagome…Kagome believed that this was how she thought of that houshi. That she, Sango, was in… that she had feelings_ for that subeke monk. And that she just wouldn't allow herself to act on them, afraid to let go of the tight grip she had on her feelings, in case she got hurt somehow. _

And isn't that exactly_ what she thought? a traitorous thought from somewhere deep inside whispered. Wasn't that why she kept pushing him away with her words and her actions, because a little voice in her head just kept reminding her that all that would happen was that she would get hurt? He would play with her heart, like he had done to so many other girls, and then discard her like a dirty dish towel. Hadn't she seen it happen with her own two eyes? Right in front of her, countless times, he had romanced girls, charming them with his graceful movements and clever words. _

And it wasn't his fault at all. That was just the way he was. Kagome could accept it, Inuyasha dealt with it, even Shippo was oblivious to the monk's playing ways. Why did she have such a problem with his flirting ways?

****

"The little voice in my head wont let me forget

The little voice in my head is never mislead

All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess

The little voice in my head just wont let me get with you"

Deep down, she knew the truth, though she would die rather than tell anyone that. 

The reason, the real_ reason why Sango couldn't possibly let her guards down around the subeke monk, was that she was already in way too deep. _

The truth was that if she ever gave in and let Miroku into her heart, she wouldn't survive it, because it would crush her when he left.

Because she was already in love with him.

.

.

.

"...promised to tell you as soon as humanly possible. Sango? Sango?"

She blinked, and the world swum into focus again. Miroku was looking at her with a worried expression on his face. 

"Sango, are you okay?"

Sango felt the familiar flutter of her heart as she felt his arms brush hers. 

"I'm fine," she spat out, trying to control her racing heartbeat. He was so close to her…

Desperately she tried to squash the feelings. He didn't mean it, she told herself. He was just playing with her, just trying to distract her from his latest scheme. It wasn't real. This…this wasn't real. _He didn't love her._

"Tell me the truth," she said again, trying to keep her voice level. 

"The truth?" he said. "Ano…the truth is.." His voice came closer to her ear, and she could feel his breath on her neck, sending tingles up and down her spine. "The truth is, I just wanted to spend some time with you, and this seemed the only way to get it."

"Wha..What?" she stuttered, her voice coming out higher, almost a squeak. She hadn't expected this. 

Miroku slipped his arms around her from behind, and pulled her back to rest against him. The simple human comfort of his touch went to her head like mead. 

"I wanted to ask you…" Sango held her breath, a thousand emotions filling her head like smoke. "To ask to you marry me."

The world stopped. For a tense, wonderful, breathless moment, she thought that he meant it. After all, he had gone to a lot of trouble to get her by herself, and the gods knew she wanted him to mean it. To marry him…to have him all to herself forever. To have someone who belonged to her, who loved her… 

He opened his mouth to say something else, and Sango turned to him, her eyes dreamy and her heart overflowing with happiness so that she could hardly speak. This was the perfect moment. Nothing could go wrong now. _He loved her._

His hand slipped a little further south then it should have for such a romantic moment. Sango could feel the familiar warmth on her buttocks, and she held her breath. _No, he wouldn't…He said he loved me…_

He groped her. "Will you bear my child?"

Her world shattered. 

She felt ill. This was not the real thing. He was just playing again, waiting for one more round of grope-slap-subeke. She should have known that he … wouldn't…

A miserable pit opened up in her stomach, and she tore herself out of his arms. He tried to recapture her hands, but she swung her fist at him with the strength born of a thousand frustrated miseries and knocked his hands away. Snatching up hiraikotsu from where it lay on the ground, she turned and ran blindly into the forest, trying hard to keep the tears from running down her face, leaving Miroku standing alone, a confused look on his face. 

It began to rain.

__

"**The little voice in my head won't let me forget**

The little voice in my head is never mislead

All of this noise is what keeps me from making a mess

The little voice in my head…

… just won't let me get with you."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*sigh of relief* That took ages, didn't it? Sorry. At least it's longer than the last one. The next chapter should be more prompt, I got bogged down in some…stuff this time. Should be all better now. Muchos gracias to an angel's heart, Katherine/Megan Jones, Lady Hiko, Arcia, Inuyagura, Ryguy5387, Hitomi, Orchidaceae, Evil Pixi Stick Spork Goddess, Calendar, InuyashaGirl-2610, Vorsith, ejqHorseLady, The-Real-Rosie-Gamgee and X-with stars. As always, you guys are the best ^_^ 

No Inuyasha in this chapter *awww* but I promise, there's lots of him in the next one…Actually, the next one's a bit sad *sniff* or at least I think so. Fear not, though, we're working our way closer to some first class fluff. ^.^ I promise to have chapter nine up by Wednesday next week, so look for me then!  
Hasta luego ^_^  
~ Melodylink


	9. you don't see me

Had to remove this chapter for updating reasons. It'll be back soon, I promise


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